Apr 14, 2012 -- 9:56AM, Goodtobehomestill wrote:

I quoted it because you wanted to know if the 'birds eating corpses' was literal or figurative.  At the time you weren't asking whether the Armageddon dead are eternally dead.  We did at that time believe those dead at Armageddon were eternally lost but we realize now we cannot insist on this. Rather like the fact that we once taught that since babies in the womb never drew the 'breath of life' they wouldn't be resurrected, but have revised that understanding.

Here's how this sort of flubbing around looks from my side of the doorstep.

Apr 14, 2012 -- 8:12AM, Ed_3 wrote:

Apr 12, 2012 -- 7:02PM, Ed_3 wrote:

Apr 12, 2012 -- 2:52PM, Newtonian wrote:

Also, you assume that many honest hearted people will be destroyed at Armageddon, rather than actually obeying the good news.   However, niether you nor I nor us know this. . .

I'm sorry, Newtonian, but you misunderstood what I was saying. After all, who really is 100% honest hearted?

Speaking of....

If I decide to agree with what JWs teach, I would still have a problem with the JWs faith because I wouldn't know how to reconcile how the Bible used subterfuge to get Christians throughout all of the centuries during the past two thousand years to believe that each of their genertations was the generation when Christ's second coming was to occur and the end-of-the-world was coming...even though the Bible itself says that it is impossible for God to lie.

Also, no JW or JW apologist on this board has honestly and/or adequately responsed to this inquirying of mine. And that would include GTBHS, Newtonian, Regina_Jones, marken and others.

Therefore, I don't know if GTBHS and the rest of JWs just ignore that information and kind of pretend that it doesn't really exist, or doesn't really matter....however, after learning about that information, myself, I personally would have a hard time knowing that information if I were to embrace the JW faith.

Again, I can't see how  God flat-out asking us to 'Keep awake' and to live in expectation of the Kingdom qualifies as 'subterfuge,' and I can only acknowledge that I personally am incapable  of changing your opinion.  (I won't apologize for being unable to do the impossible.)

But it was the Catholics who compiled and authenticated the Bible in the first place.

This claim always astounds me.  The Christians were carrying around codices of scriptures a couple of hundred years before the 'bishops' put their rubber-stamp on the canon.  A couple of hundred years, roughly akin to the amount of time the U.S. has existed.  What you claim suggests that the Bible canon did not exist till the bishops 'compiled' it, and that's just silly.

Apr 14, 2012 -- 11:38AM, Kemmer wrote:

But it was the Catholics who compiled and authenticated the Bible in the first place.

This claim always astounds me.  The Christians were carrying around codices of scriptures a couple of hundred years before the 'bishops' put their rubber-stamp on the canon.  A couple of hundred years, roughly akin to the amount of time the U.S. has existed.  What you claim suggests that the Bible canon did not exist till the bishops 'compiled' it, and that's just silly.

JWs have a mandated amnesia about all the spurious and outright fake "scripture" the bishops at Nicaea had to weed out before putting into place the canon, which by consent of all bishops present represented the genuine writings of the apostles and apostolic church.

Some examples of pre-canonical texts here.

every word  of  the  inspired  scriptures  have  been  true  since the  day  they  were  written  down.  Truth  does  not  change.  However,  I  think we  can all  agree  that  man's understanding of  truth  can change as  accurate  knowledge  is  comprehended.  you  cannot  have  accurate  knowledge  of  something  you  know  nothing  about.  If  you  acquire  even  a  little  accurate  knowledge, you come  into a  position  that  you  may  learn  more,  if  you  apply yourself  to  that.  We  can also  benefit  from  the  accurate  knowledge  that  another  human  has  learned  and  is  willing  to  share.  We  can  be  so  grateful  to Jehovah  God  that  he  gave  us  minds  that  can learn and  be  willing  to  listen to others  to  judge  for  ourselves  if  that  person might  have  accurate  knowledge on  any  subject.  He  is  the one  that  gave us  the  ability  to  learn  to  read  and  write.  as  far  as  I  know,  there  is  no  other  creation on  earth  that  has  this  ability.   Let's use  these  gifts  to learn  of  him.  Learn  that  he  does  not  desire  that  any human  be  destroyed.  2  Peter 3:9.  Learn what  are  the  requirements  to  receive  ever lasting  life.  John 3:16.  Teach  your  children  these  things  and  then  leave  your  final judgement  up  to one  that  is  perfect  in  his  judgement. Acts 10:42  Learn  that  the  good  news  of  God's  kingdom  is  being  preached  throughout  the  entire  inhabited  earth  for  a  witness  before  Jesus  destroys  wickedness Matt  24:14  and  realize  that  this  preaching  is  done  by  humans.  Learn  what  the  bible  really  teaches about  many of  the long  held  doctrines  of  men in  religious  institutions.   Learn  that  it  is  only Jehovah  and his  arrangements  that  you  can trust.  Prov 3:5,6 Do what  verse  7  instructs.  No man held  false  doctrines  can  remove your hope of   everlasting  life.  Only  you  can do  that  by rejecting  the  truth  and  practicing  what  is  bad Prov  3:21-35

with  affection  from Marken